Summary

In 1998, Shin was fifteen and working alongside thousands of prisoners to build a hydroelectric dam on the Taedong River. It was hard labor so the workers were fed well. One day Shin saw that a high concrete wall that had just been finished was collapsing. He called out to warn those working underneath it. But, it was too late. All the workers perished under the weight of the wall. Shin and other workers were instructed to remove their bodies at the end of the shift.

Work on the construction of hydroelectric plants was conducted around the clock. Shin had observed people dying on the job from hunger, overwork, and abuse. A flash flood took hundreds of workers into the river to drown. Despite these events, Shin liked the work and the surplus of food. Those were the best years of his life. He...